There are things that bring freedom, but the inverse is not true. As Christians, we have been called to freedom (5:13). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Cor. 3:17). The freedom Scripture speaks about is freedom from sin and from religious bondage. Freedom is a result of life in the Spirit. This life is only found in Christ, and it is only attained through faith. Freedom does not bring life, but life brings freedom. This type of freedom has nothing to do with politics or culture. We can be free in Christ, regardless of our human situation. To be free in a human sense allows us more opportunity to serve Christ, so it should be sought for, but it does not affect the condition of our soul. Jesus was quite clear in explaining to the Jewish leaders that real bondage is caused by sin, and true freedom is found in Him (Jn. 8:31-36). True freedom, once it is obtained, should be closely guarded.: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in a yoke of bondage.” (Gal. 5:1)
My ancestor, Pierre Arseneau came to North America from France in the year 1671 to what is now Nova Scotia. He came at a time when Acadia was returning to French rule, after having experienced about 10 years under British rule. During that period, the French colonists had experienced a freedom from the French feudal system, for which they were in no hurry to return to. As a navigational pilot, Pierre was recruited to transport the livestock and supplies of the adventuring colonists from the Capital, Port Royal, to a new settlement at the end of the French Bay (Bay of Fundy). He became a trade partner with the community leader and was granted land in the new settlement. The dream of a New World was not without conflict, however. The settlement was discovered by a French nobleman during a naval expedition and he soon established himself as the “Seigneur de Beaubasin”, even though the residents largely opposed him. For the next one hundred years, Acadia changed hands a few times between British and French rule, so the inhabitants became neutral in their allegiances. As “French Neutrals” under British rule, they experienced civil liberties which included the right to worship freely their Catholic faith. It was this particular freedom which contributed to their expulsion from the land they had come to know as their own.
In the years preceding the Acadian Expulsion, the missionary priests worked with French authorities to incite some of the Acadians and Indians to resist the British. The religious leaders believed that if the people remained under British rule, they would eventually become Protestants and suffer eternal damnation. They felt it was their God-given duty to deliver their flock from the Protestants. Little did they realize that the resistance of a few would eventually lead to the displacement of an entire people. Would the Acadian Expulsion have occurred if religion had not played a role? I don’t believe so. There are freedoms we hold on to sometimes that are not what we think they are. We seek to defend civil liberties for fear of losing religious liberties, but sometimes what we hold on to, or how we hold onto it, is another form of bondage. Let us not forget that the greatest bondage to overcome is the bondage to sin.
When I came to know Christ at the age of 20, I had to overcome the bondage of religious traditions. These traditions were deeply rooted in my family and community. There was a price to pay to walk in freedom, but I knew if I stayed under bondage, I would not be able to assist others to freedom. With such a cost for freedom, I was not going to exchange one form of religious bondage for another. I purposed to help believers in any denomination, but I would never be a minister of one. Even in the fellowships I have belonged to, I have had to resist the pressure to conform. We must keep our ears attentive to God, not man. Even those whom we think would be displeased with the directions we take are themselves being drawn by the same voice. If we are free to follow the voice of the Master instead of the fear of man, we will continue walking the path to the Heavenly City. We will not settle into the traditions of the past.
I know the value of freedom, and the price we must pay to walk in it. That is why it bothers me when it is used wrongly. We are all familiar with the Scripture: “do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13). When we use our civil liberties in pride or selfishness, we are not walking in love, we are walking in the flesh. We are not abiding in true freedom; we are still enslaved to sin. To elevate anything, even freedom, above obedience to God is to serve an idol. Let us not confuse civil liberty with true freedom. Consider what happens when we guard freedom with the works of the flesh. In the Western world we experience civil liberties that are non-existent in Communist countries. We resist the imposition of state control because we have no desire to become prisoners of the state. I live in the province of Alberta where the government has tried unsuccessfully to convince residents to wear face masks in public and to limit social gatherings because of COVID-19. The result has been an increase in cases of the illness which has resulted in sickness and death. In our desire to guard our “freedom”, we have harmed our neighbours. Now, because people would not willingly consider the good of others, the government has imposed stricter guidelines which can be legally enforced. Can you not see where this is going? Because we refuse to willingly considers others ahead of ourselves (Phil. 2:3), we must now be forced to do it by law. In our efforts to guard freedom through selfishness and pride, we make way for tyranny. We are still far from there, but if we continue to elevate freedom above love, we play into the strategies of the enemy to bring about a one world anti-christ system. Am I exaggerating? Examine your ways. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Prov. 14:12).
Highway in the Wilderness 